Trump says it's 'highly unlikely' he will fire Fed Chair Powell after broaching idea with GOP reps

President Donald Trump said Wednesday it was "highly unlikely" he would fire Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve

President Donald Trump said Wednesday it was "highly unlikely" he would fire Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve.

His statements, made in the Oval Office, come less than 24 hours after telling a room full of Republican lawmakers that he was considering doing so.

“No, we’re not planning on doing anything,” Trump told reporters in response to a question about whether he wanted to fire Powell.

“I don’t rule out anything but I think it’s highly unlikely unless he has to leave for fraud,” Trump said, while criticizing Powell’s management of a Fed renovation project that the White House had recently floated as a pretext for removing the Fed chair.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on June 25. Kent Nishimura / Getty ImagesThe president had asked GOP lawmakers late Tuesday how they felt about firing the Fed chair, according to a senior White House official. They expressed approval for firing him. The president then indicated he likely would soon but that no final decision had been made.